


The Boy in the Box

by Medie



Category: Firefly, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Community: picfor1000, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-01
Updated: 2013-03-01
Packaged: 2017-12-03 23:05:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/703669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Medie/pseuds/Medie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"So, always travel with your friends in boxes, Doc?" Boyd speaks up. "Or is this just a special occasion?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Boy in the Box

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Picfor1000. This is my assignment [here](http://www.flickr.com/photos/38181284@N06/5898474934/lightbox/). Someone once floated the idea of a Firefly-Teen Wolf fusion, but I never could figure out how I'd try it until I got this picture and thought "hey, it's the Academy".

Scott sedates Stiles. 

There's not much else he can do; the crew is waiting. The captain wants his explanation and Scott...well, Scott needs to find a way to keep them on this boat. 

He looks at Stiles, muttering to himself, his hands twitching against the restraints, and lays a hand on his shoulder. He should go, but he waits until Stiles settles down and his eyes slip closed. 

"Be right back," Scott says, and goes to face the music.

The Hales are waiting in the galley. Laura's sitting in the corner, her feet propped up on her husband's lap. Boyd's drinking a cup of coffee with a plate of bao before him and she's stealing bites as he goes. They look relaxed, comfortable, but her brother looks anything but. Derek's leaning against the counter, a cup of his own steaming at his elbow. 

The rest of the passengers are scattered around the room. Scott doesn't remember most of their names and, right now, he doesn't care. 

He freezes in the door and looking at them. He has no idea where to start. 

"So, always travel with your friends in boxes, Doc?" Boyd speaks up. "Or is this just a special occasion?"

Scott laughs despite the nerves. "When you get to know him, you'll understand. Stiles—" he stops, remembering the letters and shakes his head. "Stiles used to never shut up. I swear, he used to wake up talking and—" 

And no one really cares. 

"Right, yeah," he scratches the back of his neck, thinking for a long moment before trying again, "I went to the best Medacad on Osiris. The town doctor back in Beacon Hills knew someone and they got me a scholarship. I, uh, finished in the top three percent of the class and did my internship in like a year." He's never come right out and said this before and it feels _weird_ to just say, "I'm kinda smart."

"Kinda," Laura says, stretching out the word and grinning as she does. 

Boyd nods. He looks back at Derek and says, "Top three percent."

Derek's expression doesn't change, but his voice is a little light when he says, "Not too shabby." 

Scott decides to take the joking as a good sign. They might space him three seconds after he finishes talking, but hope, right? 

A well-dressed redhead walks in, walking by Derek to pour herself a cup of coffee. "So, how does your friend fit into things?"

"I'm smart, but Stiles left me in the dust. He went to a government-sponsored academy. They came to Beacon Hills right before I left for Osiris. Stiles wasn't just smart, he was _gifted_. He had trouble focusing, but when he could it was like even the teachers couldn't keep up with him. He wanted to go somewhere on the colony, but nothing was good enough so when the Academy came, it was a gift." 

"There was a saying back on Earth-That-Was," a man speaks up. "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts."

Scott nods. "They'd be right about that. The programs were amazing, Stiles wanted to go and they were willing to pay his way. For a while, he sent letters pretty much every day. They were full of stuff that was completely over my head, but he was having a blast."

He looks at the floor. Those early days after the letters stopped had passed in a blur of exams. It had been a week before he realized what was wrong and he's never not going to feel guilty about that. "It was six months before I got another letter. His dad was the same. We were freaking out until a letter finally arrived. His dad sent me a copy and it didn't make any sense. Stiles talked about stuff that never happened and how he was sorry that his mom couldn't come see the Academy, but the campus was closed. That was the really weird part since his mom died years ago."

"It was a code," the man in the back says again. 

Scott turns his head to meet the man's blue-eyed gaze and realizes there's a young woman standing at his side. Probably his daughter, judging the resemblance. He smiles and she smiles back, albeit sadly. "It was. His dad and I spent weeks figuring out that it said they're hurting us. Get me out." His voice cracks a little with the guilt. 

A look passes between Derek and Laura and Scott wishes like hell he could read it. 

Derek nods finally, "How did you get him out?"

"Stiles' dad used to be a fed. He called in every favor he had until he finally found an underground group willing to help us—" Derek and Laura exchange another look and Scott stumbles over his words. It takes him a second to pick up, "—they smuggled Stiles out in cryo and got him to Persephone. I took him the rest of the way." 

Laura frowns. "So when he woke up in the cargo hold, that was the first time?" 

"Yes. As far as he knew, he was still in the Academy. Right now, he's sedated again. I'll try bringing him out of it later and see how bad the damage is." 

"You don't know?"

Scott shakes his head. "We couldn't worry about that. We needed to get him out before they could make it worse. Look, I know this means asking you to take a huge risk—"

"No shit," a guy mutters, jostling Scott as he walks in and joins the redhead, who tosses her hair and ignores him. "You're gonna have the feds down on our asses."

"Like you need any help, Jackson." Derek looks at Scott. "I don't know what we're going to do, but we need a doctor. Can't pay much, but I figure the risk of harboring you two should count for something."

Scott sighs. "Thank you."

"I wouldn't thank him yet. The Alliance doesn't like to lose," Laura smiles, fierce, "but then neither do we."


End file.
